Jeff JarvisNov 17, 2022
I will give big points to the first news organization, big or small, that:
* Sets up an instance for its newsroom,
* Sets up an instance for the community it serves,
* Enables rel=me for staff,
* Creates a boost-on-Mastodon sharing function,
* Enhances that function so headlines/images (with alt-text) appear in the toot,
* Covers the Fediverse as more than a geeky curiosity or alt-Twitter,
* Listens to and joins in the conversation here.
Show threadMatt BlazeNov 17, 2022
@jeffjarvis Having news orgs have their own instances for their staff sounds good, but it may not be great for journalists. On Twitter, a journalist can develop a following that they take with them when they move employers. But someone who develops a following on their employer's mastodon instance loses it when they leave (unless they allow them to migrate the account elsewhere).
Show threadJeff JarvisNov 17, 2022
@mattblaze That is precisely the value of the Fediverse: You can take your identity and your social graph with you when you leave.
Show threadMatt Blaze

@jeffjarvis Only if your instance allows it. Will they? Moving also effectively erases the post history.

Anyone establishing a presence on their employer's instance better be clear up front about the rules here.

Nov 17, 2022 at 4:21pmWeb
Show threadJeff JarvisNov 17, 2022
@mattblaze If a news organization starts an instance that doesn't allow interoperability, no one should join and everyone should mock them.
Show threadMatt BlazeNov 17, 2022

@jeffjarvis It can interoperate just fine. It just need not send the migrate messages.

Again, maybe norms will develop in the industry. Or maybe they won't. But it would be foolish to assume it will just work out the way you hope it will.

Show threadJeff JarvisNov 17, 2022
@mattblaze A fella can wish.
Show threadMatt BlazeNov 17, 2022
@jeffjarvis Explicit agreements >> thoughts and prayers.
Show threadDon MartiNov 17, 2022
@mattblaze @jeffjarvis Just from a practical labor/management POV, what happens when reporters go on strike? Is it crossing the picket line to use an employer-owned instance? (Twitter was a win for all kinds of content labor because it's a byline namespace independent of employment relationships)
Show threadMatt BlazeNov 17, 2022
@dmarti @jeffjarvis Yeah. People are being incredibly starry-eyed about this (and lots of other things about the fediverse). The devil is very much in the details here, and we've seen these sorts of issues play out in very ugly ways many times before, in news and other areas.
Show threadMatt BlazeNov 17, 2022
@dmarti @jeffjarvis And figuring this out now (while the stakes are low) will be much easier than sorting it out after the first mess.
Show threadJeff JarvisNov 17, 2022
@mattblaze @dmarti But not doing anything while figuring it all out is a common malady in the news business: inertia as excuse for inaction.
Show threadMatt BlazeNov 17, 2022
@jeffjarvis @dmarti I think this is fairly simple: Have an explicit agreement that when a journalist leaves, they will allow them to migrate their account. Or if not, make that crystal clear.
Show threadJulio J. 🀲Nov 17, 2022
@mattblaze @jeffjarvis @dmarti An intermediate point can be for the media instance to allow journalist to add their own users via webfinger so searching for "[email protected]" returns my user on my instance of choice plus rel='me' links on their author pages
Show threadJeff JarvisNov 17, 2022
@j3j5 @mattblaze @dmarti Yes. It's not even intermediate, but another option: let journos verify position via rel=me.
Show threadJulio J. 🀲Nov 17, 2022
@jeffjarvis @mattblaze @dmarti Yeah, the webfinger part I think is important so it's easier to discover the journos while keeping their brand
Show threadJulio J. 🀲Nov 17, 2022
@jeffjarvis @mattblaze @dmarti For people reading who may not know what I mean, I have it set up with my own domain and it works with the same format than email addresses, if you search for "[email protected]" (not my email, but it could be) my user in hachyderm.io shows up. Media orgs could set up for their journos so [email protected] points to my own user.
Show threadSmittyHalibutNov 17, 2022
@mattblaze @jeffjarvis @dmarti Question if historical posts: do those belong to the media company or the individual? Would the media co allow them to export those posts and host them statically somewhere else, or rely on the media company to make them available at their discretion?
Show threadLuna CorbdenNov 17, 2022
@mattblaze @dmarti @jeffjarvis As a Fediverse newb but internet old, it seems the ultimate solution would be to have your identity be hosted separately from your corporate instance, and have that be baked into the system so it’s default or they can’t bypass. Similar to what Inrupt Solid is trying to do. Seems too late to build it like that?
Show threadChad Jordahl  Nov 17, 2022
@corbden @mattblaze @dmarti @jeffjarvis
I agree, I think #Mastodon and other #fediverse apps could enable a separate identity verification protocol, and the the identity authorities themselves could follow the same decentralized and federated philosophy as the rest of the Fediverse. Mastodon could add UI components that make it easy for everyone to see the verification details for any given individual.
Show threadDaveC-CO Nov 18, 2022
@jeffjarvis @mattblaze @dmarti really like the question. There aren't norms that I'm aware of. Agreed that Twitter has some advantages for journalists vs traditional print publication copyright ownership. At this point, the Twitter model is only a thought experiment now. There is a "firstest with the mostest" argument for publications jumping in. Hopefully the publications with early Mastodon instances have a cooperative, enlightened self interest.
Show threadLars Karlslund Nov 17, 2022
@dmarti @mattblaze @jeffjarvis oooooh, that is a *good* observation. Who owns your Mastodon account? I guess if you use your employers instance, it's the same rules as your corporate email. If you want a private one, go elsewhere I guess ...
Show threadMatt BlazeNov 17, 2022
@lkarlslund @dmarti @jeffjarvis yes. “Who owns your account” is a legal question, not a protocol question.
Show threadLars Karlslund Nov 17, 2022
@mattblaze @dmarti @jeffjarvis so how do you draw a parallel to Twitter accounts? Many write "not endorsed by my employer", "opinions are mine" in their bio, but still you can contact journalists etc. And what about Signal - are they using a company paid phone, who owns the phone number at the time of invoice ... this whole personal/company split is #interesting
Show threadPatrick McEwenNov 17, 2022
@dmarti @mattblaze @jeffjarvis Might be something that is better run by unions than employers